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ethics: part 1
Moral Scepticism and Moral Knowledge (Studies in philosophical psychology)Moral Scepticism and Moral Knowledge (Studies in philosophical psychology) by Renford Bambrough
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One of the best books on ethics that I've read. Wittgensteinian in method :clear and convincing.
Ethics: Inventing Right and WrongEthics: Inventing Right and Wrong by J.L. Mackie
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A good place to start even if you disagree totally, as I do.
The Republic (Penguin Classics)The Republic (Penguin Classics) by Plato
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Still one of the best and most sophisticated attempts at a total theory. All of Plato should be read again and again.
The Nicomachean Ethics (Penguin Classics)The Nicomachean Ethics (Penguin Classics) by Aristotle
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Virtues unpacked by the 'master of those who know'.
Morality: An Introduction to Ethics (Canto)Morality: An Introduction to Ethics (Canto) by Bernard Williams
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Despite what some say, this is a good introduction.
Ethics and the Limits of PhilosophyEthics and the Limits of Philosophy by Bernard Williams
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A little more sophisticated, worth the effort.
On Liberty (English Library)On Liberty (English Library) by John Stuart Mill
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A must! We all need to understand what's meant by 'the tyranny of the masses'.
UtilitarianismUtilitarianism by John Stuart Mill
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The classic statement of a moral view that has had profound influence. No matter what we may think about it.
Utilitarianism: For and AgainstUtilitarianism: For and Against by J. J. C. Smart
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Utilitarianism pro and contra.
Groundwork for the Metaphysics of MoralsGroundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals by Iammanuel Kant
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Deontological theory by one of the greatest philosophers ever.
Emile: or on Education: Or on Education (Classics)Emile: or on Education: Or on Education (Classics) by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
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How to bring up our children. Maybe. All of Rousseau should be read, even the confessional works. A truly troubled soul.
Good and Evil: An Absolute ConceptionGood and Evil: An Absolute Conception by Raimond Gaita
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A work of great power. A challenge to both utilitarian and deontological theories.
After Virtue: A Study in Moral TheoryAfter Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory by Alasdair MacIntyre
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Challenging.
The Bible: Authorized King James Version (Oxford World's Classics)The Bible: Authorized King James Version (Oxford World's Classics)
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You might want to have a look at this as well.
A Companion to Ethics (Blackwell Companions to Philosophy)A Companion to Ethics (Blackwell Companions to Philosophy)
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This is very useful.
The Communist Manifesto (Oxford World's Classics)The Communist Manifesto (Oxford World's Classics) by Karl Marx
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Should be read if only to disagree with.
The Open Society and Its Enemies: Volume 1 (Routledge Classics): Vol 1The Open Society and Its Enemies: Volume 1 (Routledge Classics): Vol 1 by Karl Popper
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Plato criticised. This is a powerful work.
The Open Society and Its Enemies: Volume 2 (Routledge Classics S.)The Open Society and Its Enemies: Volume 2 (Routledge Classics S.) by Karl R. Popper
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Hegel and Marx criticised. Hegel takes the most stick.
Totem and Taboo (Routledge Classics) (Routledge Classics)Totem and Taboo (Routledge Classics) (Routledge Classics) by Sigmund Freud
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Very readable. Psychoanalysis searches for the origins of ethics.
On the Genealogy of Morals: A Polemic (Oxford World's Classics)On the Genealogy of Morals: A Polemic (Oxford World's Classics) by Friedrich Nietzsche
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Just what it says on the label. All Nietzsche is worth reading: it's an experience!
Meditations (Penguin Classics)Meditations (Penguin Classics) by Marcus Aurelius
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Stoic wisdom.
Wickedness (Routledge Classics): A Philosophical Essay (Routledge Classics)Wickedness (Routledge Classics): A Philosophical Essay (Routledge Classics) by Dr Mary Midgley
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Well written book on the nature of evil.
Walden: Or, Life in the Woods (Dover Thrift)Walden: Or, Life in the Woods (Dover Thrift) by Henry David Thoreau
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How to be a good 'neighbour'. At a price Thoreau would have been proud of.
Totality and Infinity (Philosophical Series)Totality and Infinity (Philosophical Series) by Emmanuel Levinas
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Very hard. Continental ethics at its finest. The face of the other and the infinite.
Otherwise Than Being, Or, Beyond EssenceOtherwise Than Being, Or, Beyond Essence by Emmanuel Levinas
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Again very hard. Proximity, the neighbour, trauma, obsession, the third person and scepticism: pointing towards a signification otherwise than Being.